Living Royally
by HopelessOwls
Summary: Katara and Zuko wanted a big family and they got one. A mini-drabble series dedicated to them and their kids.
1. Betrothal

**A/N: Ok so I really love Zuko and Katara as parents so I decided to write a mini-series about the Zutara family. This 1st chapter is sort of a prologue, but the next chapters will each focus on each kid, so one chapter per child. The chapters will be made up of short drabbles all relating to the child. There will mostly likely be around 5 chapter total, mostly because I am sorta OCD and having anything that isn't like a good round number would bother me and because I feel like Zuko and Katara would like a big family. Hope you like it and please review! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters.**

* * *

**Betrothal**

Zuko walked into his room to find Katara sitting at his window watching the rain outside. He wasn't surprised. It didn't rain much in the Fire Nation, but when it did Katara always watched the water fall from the sky. She said it was comforting and a relief from the stifling heat.

Zuko walked up behind her and touched her shoulder. She smiled up at him. "How did the meeting go?"

"Boring, as usual," he sighed. He looked down at her for a moment before picking her up and sitting down with her in his lap. She rolled her eyes at him and looked back out through the window.

"Nothing interesting happened?" she questioned without looking at him.

"Well," Zuko mused, "one of the councilmen did get set on fire."

"Was it you who set him on fire?"

"No!"

Katara laughed and leaned back against him. Zuko wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her neck. "How's your day been?"

"I got a letter from Toph."

"And?"

"Tellen is an earthbender."

Zuko grinned. He knew how much Toph had wanted her first born son to be an earthbender. "What was Aang's reaction?"

"Toph said he was happy and didn't care what his son's bending was. Personally, I think he was still a little disappointed he wasn't an airbender."

"He wants to rebuild his people."

"I know. Maybe Tenzin will be an airbender. Oh, and I also got a letter from Sokka. Suki gave birth yesterday. Another girl."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "How many do they have now?"

"Five girls."

"Sokka is a braver man than me," Zuko said gravely.

Katara laughed again, the warm and happy sound making Zuko smile. "We should go visit them soon. I want to see my nieces. And we need to visit Toph too. We haven't seen the boys in years. Tenzin's already walking."

"We'll go soon. But first, I have a surprise for you."

Katara turned in his lap to look at him. "What is it?"

"A surprise. Close your eyes."

He made Katara turn back to the window and paused, his heart suddenly beating faster. He had told himself this was a good time to do it, but now that he was actually going to, he wanted to run away and hide. He took a deep breath to steel himself. This was Katara. There was no reason to be nervous.

He pulled the necklace out of his pocket and reached around her, holding it with both hands in front of her eyes. The necklace was made like a traditional Water Tribe betrothal necklace would be; a thick band and one large, circular gemstone hanging in the middle. Zuko even carved it himself, making a pattern that looked like waves and fire battling each other. The pendant was made from the precious fire opals the royal family had always been fond of and there were smaller stones studded in the band of the necklace, two on each side made of the same stone as Katara's grandmother's necklace. The design looked nice to him but it wasn't perfect. The lines on the pendent were slightly rough to the touch and the stones studded into the band were a little uneven.

Zuko leaned close to Katara. "Open," he whispered in her ear, his mouth dry.

Katara opened her eyes and gasped. She stared at the necklace for a full minute, watching the way the light brought out the green specks in the red and orange stone, while Zuko held his breath. Finally, she spun around in his lap and threw her arms around his neck, pressing their chests together. "Zuko," she whispered, "I thought you would never ask."

"It takes a long time to carve those things, Katara," he told her, hugging her back and feeling giddy with relief and happiness. "And I had to convince the Council."

Katara leaned back slightly, her eyes wary. "They opposed you marrying me?" she asked, her voice tinged with sadness. Zuko squeezed her comfortingly; he knew how she hated the way some of the nobles looked down on her for not being Fire Nation.

"Some did, but they're also the ones who still are mad that the war is over. They wanted me to marry a noblewoman and guarantee that the heirs are all firebenders. But the majority thought it was a good union – even in the political sense. A union of the Water Tribes and the Fire Nation."

Katara smiled and leaned back into Zuko. She nuzzled his neck, turning her new necklace in her hands. "What would they do if our children are waterbenders?"

"I think a couple of the nobles would keel over if the heir to the throne is a waterbender," Zuko laughed, images of light skinned children with bright blue eyes dancing in his mind.

She sat back up, her bright azure eyes sparkling. "Help me put it on."

Zuko moved her hair away from her neck and gently pulled her mother's necklace off. He secured hers and she turned back around. Zuko smiled softly, liking the way the fire opal looked against her dark skin. Katara leaned down and kissed him and he held her close, savoring the moment and feeling happier than he ever had before.


	2. Rokun

**A/N: This is going to be the format for the rest of the chapters and each one is going to focus on a different child. The drabbles go in order from here on, but are not necessarily related to each other. Hope you like it and please review!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender**

* * *

Zuko sat by and watched as Katara's face strained and pulled, her usual dusky skin pale and sweaty. He held her hand while she squeezed hard enough to make him think he could hear his bones popping and breaking. Zuko nervously glanced to the foot of the bed where a midwife was standing between his wife's legs.

Katara groaned and shrieked and squeezed his hand even harder. Zuko reached over with his free hand and pushed her sweaty hair out of her face. She panted, throwing her head back against the pile of pillows behind her and grit her teeth and pushed again before her whole body relaxed and she sighed in relief.

Zuko blinked and heard crying from the foot of the bed. He stared at the nurse while she handed a small bundle to Katara, who cradled it to her chest. Zuko stood up and leaned over her, looking at the child with wide and awe-filled eyes.

Katara grinned up at him. "A boy," she whispered hoarsely. "It's a boy." She grinned down at the small child, tears in her bright eyes. Zuko stared down at him too. He was a small, pink thing, with his face scrunched up and wailing. He had a tuft of dark ebony hair and when his eyes opened for just a second, Zuko saw they were the color of burnished gold, just like his own. "He looks just like you," Katara whispered, smoothing a hand over the newborn's hair. "He'll look exactly like you when he's older."

Zuko sat down on the bed. He couldn't stop staring at the baby. His baby. He was a father. He watched as Katara shifted him and moved her shirt so that her breasts were bare and held the baby against her chest. The small child found her breast with no help from anyone and the room when quiet as he suckled.

Katara leaned back and made cooing sounds at the child. She looked up at Zuko with half-lidded eyes. "What should we name him?"

Zuko frowned. He hadn't thought much about names. He was silent for a moment, thinking. "How about Rokun?"

Katara looked down at the boy. "Rokun…That's a nice name. A strong name, for the future Fire Lord. Rokun," Katara repeated, nuzzling her nose against the baby boy. She smiled up at her husband. "Come down here." Zuko laughed quietly and leaned down to press his lips against his wife's and then his new son's soft head.

* * *

Katara woke up to find Zuko sitting on the edge of the bed, leaned against the headboard and staring at their son's cradle.

Katara couldn't see his expression, the shadows in the room obscuring everything but his scar. "Zuko?"

Zuko glanced at her with his eyes only and went back to staring. "Zuko, what's wrong?" Katara asked again, crawling over the sheets to sit next to him. She rested her chin on his shoulder.

Katara was silent, waiting for Zuko to say something. "What if I'm like him?" Zuko asked eventually, his voice strangled. Katara didn't have to ask to know who he was talking about. Katara almost sighed; she knew he was going to start thinking about his father soon.

"You won't be."

"How do you know?" Zuko asked, turning to face her.

Katara reached up to cup his cheek, brushing her thumb against the smooth scar tissue on his face. "Because you aren't your father. You know what it's like to have a cruel father and you're going to do your best to be his opposite. You know that."

"But, what if I am like him? What if I get too angry? What if I hurt him?" Zuko muttered, dropping his chin to his chest.

"Zuko. You won't be like him. You _aren't_ like him. You'll be a great father," Katara told him, holding his chin so that she could look him in the eye. He stared at her with dull eyes. "Zuko, you love Rokun. It's obvious. You could never hurt him," she told him fiercely. "I know you don't trust yourself, but trust me."

Zuko blinked and lowered his head to Katara's shoulder. She stroked her hair and back and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Katara," he whispered.

* * *

Zuko cracked his eyes open, blearily realizing it was not sunrise, but the middle of the night. He glanced to the left, at his sleeping wife, and wondered what had woken him. Then he heard it. A piercing cry rang out in the dark room and Zuko blinked, confused for only a moment, before sighing quietly.

Zuko slipped out of bed and padded across the room to the small cradle that held his week old son. He still wasn't used to waking up in the middle of the night to tend to the baby. He reached down and gently pulled the small child into his arms and leaned him against his chest, bouncing him up and down the way Katara did. It was natural now, for Zuko to hold the small child; he was no longer afraid to pick him up or afraid of breaking him.

Rokun's cries calmed down and he fell silent after several minutes of Zuko rocking him. Zuko went back to his bed and sat on the edge, his back to Katara. She hadn't even woken up. At any other time, Zuko would have been surprised; Katara was a light sleeper, but lately she was so exhausted Zuko had to practically shake her awake.

Rokun made baby sounds against Zuko's neck and he smiled. He shifted the baby so that he could look his son in the face. Little Rokun blinked up at his father, round gold eyes seeming too big for his small face. He yawned, pale pink lips forming a circle. Zuko stood up and put the baby back in his cradle, absently tracing his fingers over the child's small features as he fell asleep.

Zuko nearly jumped when he felt two arms wrap around his waist. He hadn't heard Katara walk up behind him. "Is he asleep?" she murmured into his back.

"Yes," Zuko whispered, turning around in her grasp and wrapping his arms around her.

"You should have woken me up."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of my son when he wakes up crying in the middle of the night."

Katara laughed against his chest, rubbing circles in the small of his back. "A week ago you would have run away from him."

Zuko smiled against her hair. "Let's go to sleep," he murmured, picking Katara up and carrying her back to bed. She giggled against his neck, running her hands through his loose hair.

* * *

Katara walked through the gardens, her fingers trailing over the blooming flowers. She rolled her shoulders, trying to alleviate the weight of her formal robes in the heat. Katara looked up as she heard a giggle from behind the bushes.

She walked around the rosebushes and stopped. There was Zuko holding Rokun by his chubby little arms in the shallow pond, while Rokun giggled and laughed as turtle ducks swam around him, nipping at his clothes. Zuko ginned above him, laughing with his son. Katara couldn't help but smile at the sight; it warmed her heart to see Zuko so happy.

Rokun looked up and shrieked happily. "Mama!" he yelled, tugging one arm out of Zuko's hands and pointing to her. Zuko looked up and smiled slightly.

"What are you two doing?"

"Dada's sowing me turtle ducks!" Rokun yelled as Zuko pulled him out of the water and he toddled towards Katara.

Katara picked him and swung him into her arms, ignoring the water that soaked into her smiled down at her two year old son as he stuck his thumb in his mouth and rested a hand on her breast.

Katara sat down next to Zuko, who wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her head. "I thought you had a meeting?" she asked him.

"I did, but it ended early. The nobles actually reached a majority vote without fighting for two hours."

Katara raised her eyebrow. "That's a first."

"Indeed."

Katara settled back into Zuko's shoulder and closed her eyes. The heat and her heavy robes no longer bothered her, not when her son was sleeping against her chest and her husband was resting his head against hers.

* * *

"Dada, what's wrong with Mama?" Rokun asked, his small face leaning over the edge of Zuko's desk.

"Nothing is wrong with her, Rokun," Zuko told him, pausing in his writing so he could peer at his four year old child.

"Then why is her stomach big?" he asked frowning in confusion.

Zuko blinked and sat back. "Come here," he said. Rokun stuck out his arms and Zuko pulled him into his lap, setting him on his thigh.

"Mama's not sick, Rokun. But there is something different about her. But it's not bad."

"Then what is it?"

"Mama's going to have a baby. That's why her stomach is big."

Rokun's eyes were wide. "There's a baby in Mama's tummy? How did it get there?"

Zuko coughed, his cheeks turning pink. "Um…"

The door to Zuko's office opened and Katara walked in. She smiled at Zuko and Rokun.

"Mama! Why did you eat a baby?" Rokun cried when he spotted her.

Katara froze and blinked. "What?"

"Uh, I was just explaining to Rokun how you were having a baby," Zuko muttered.

Katara pressed a hand to her mouth and unsuccessfully tried to smother her giggles. She leaned against Zuko's chair and rubbed her stomach. "Yes, Rokun, I'm pregnant. That means that soon you're going to have a little brother or sister."

"But how did the baby get there?" Rokun asked, pulling on Zuko's sleeve and looking between his parents.

Katara patted Rokun's head. "I didn't eat him, if that's what you think. The baby is in my stomach because that is how babies are made. They stay in their mothers' stomachs, growing stronger, until they are strong enough to come out and grow up."

Rokun blinked, accepting this explanation. "How long until the baby comes out?"

"Well, the baby's only been growing for about a month, so there are eight more to go."

Rokun nodded and turned back to Zuko. "Can we go feed the turtle ducks, Dada?"

Katara laughed at her son's easy acceptance of her pregnancy and picked him up. "We'll go feed the turtle ducks so Dada can work. And I'll tell you all about your new sister or brother."

Zuko shook his head as they walked out and picked his brush up again. He was glad Katara was around the handle situations like that.

* * *

"Katara! Katara!"

Katara spun around at Zuko's calls and stared as he ran into the room. He was holding Rokun's hand and grinning like the happiest man on earth. "What?"

Zuko let go of Rokun's hand and positioned him in the middle of the floor. "Okay, Rokun, show Mama what you showed me."

Katara watched, bewildered, as Rokun screwed his face up in concentration. He held one of his small palms out and as Katara watched, a small flame appeared and flickered for a moment, before going out with a puff.

Katara stared at her son as he panted with effort. Then she grinned and scooped her son up in a hug. "You're a firebender! Oh, Rokun," she cried, pressing kisses to his soft hair. He grinned at her.

She looked up at Zuko and caught the smug look on his face and glared. "He's going to be a waterbender, huh?" he asked, grinning lopsidedly. "He's seven and already firebending!" Zuko said proudly.

"Shut up," she said huffily, turning away. Katara smiled when she felt Zuko kneel down behind her and kiss her head. She looked over her shoulder at him. "The next one is a waterbender."


End file.
